Badge of shame

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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s timeless classic “The Scarlet Letter” is set in a puritan settlement in Boston in 17th century. A young woman Hester Prynne lives in seclusion with her young daughter, scorned by everyone, and is forced to wear a huge scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest, a punishment for her alleged Adultery. Hester’s husband had been missing for a long time and she has apparently had an affair and given birth to a child. The scarlet letter that she is supposed to wear all the time is a ’badge of shame’ condemning her for the ‘sin’ she has committed.

I am constantly reminded of this poignant tale of sin and suffering as Bhanwari Devi’s saga unravels itself on my TV screen with new shocking details emerging every day. Young thirty-six year old nurse from a small non-descript town of Jodhpur, Bhanwari Devi’s story is an intriguing one. Abducted and now found dead after 3 months, Bhanwari’s sordid saga is a complex web of sex, deceit and politics. It is now known that a senior minister in Ashok Gehlot’s government, Mahipal Maderna along with Congress MLA Malkhan Singh, both of whom are alleged to have been ‘close’ to Bhanwari conspired to have her killed. We are told that she was blackmailing Maderna with a sex CD that was in her possession. A few days ago, it was also revealed that her husband too is a part of the conspiracy. He apparently accepted money to send her alone to the place from where she was abducted. Whether he knew she would be killed or not is not known yet. Bhanwari Devi, it now emerges, was killed in the most gruesome way. A bat was used to crush her skull and then she was burnt. Her remains were later dumped in a canal. Can a young woman, a mother of two children, meet an end more tragic than this?

In our 24/7 media cycle, most inane things get coverage and become ‘trending topics’. From Veena Malik’s bare dare act to waiting for Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th ton everything becomes a rage. However, I noticed that Bhanwari Devi’s story received very little attention. Apart from customary news reports, there was very little outrage in our TV studios. Even print media seemed not too interested in this story. Here was a valid sensational story of a young woman murdered at the behest of top politicians of Rajasthan that threatened to bring the Congress government down in the state yet the outrage was missing. As I sat down to search for more news about Bhanwari Devi, I was shocked by the lack of coverage. Even Women’s groups seemed not too interested in taking up the case. I didn’t hear anything from National Council for Women either. I went to their website but found nothing. No feminists groups took out candle light marches nor were any “Justice for Bhanwari Devi’ campaigns started. The hush up of the entire affair was rather intriguing. Bhanwari Devi did not belong to the elite strata of the society, nor did she live in any of the big metropolitan cities. Her family probably had no access to the media so could not take up her case. While all these were plausible reasons for eerie silence, there seemed to be more than that met the eye.

As I started looking at the few news reports, they all seemed to be building up the same narrative. Bhanwari Devi was a young upstart, who dreamt beyond her means. She was an ‘ambitious girl” who had ‘relationships’ with influential politicians. And then one day ‘karma’ caught up with her.

NDTV came up with a report on Bhanwari Devi few weeks ago. Just one look at the report titled ‘Bhanwari was determined to live a life less ordinary’ is enough to make anyone cringe. The reporter says that ‘her social aspirations set her apart from other women in the village’. She was not ‘afraid of the distinction’ and according to her husband ‘she liked ‘dressing up”. According to this report she was not shy to leverage her political aspirations to her advantage. The reporter sure knew that dead women don’t talk and hence she started assuming a lot of things.

NDTV’S idea of investigative journalism seems to be to send a reporter to Bhanwari’s village, ask few random people on the streets what they think about her, question her 17 year old son and 7 year old daughter and make a few assumptions here and there and the story is ready to be filed. No one bothered to ask any incisive questions about the other two men involved in this saga. Was she really blackmailing or did she know too much? The idea clearly is to paint Bhanwari as someone with ‘loose morals’ and then somehow justify her death. While we can discuss the definition of ’loose morals’ till cows come home, but assuming that Bhanwari did sleep around with influential men, does that mean she deserved to be killed the way she was?

Is such a juvenile report by NDTV, shoddy journalism or is it part of strategy to hush up the affair by giving it a completely different twist? Thanks to these reports most people today are somehow convinced that Bhanwari is not a victim. Most think of her as a blackmailer who deserved to die. The CBI investigations have not completed yet. No one knows the real story and yet people have already made up their minds. Bhanwari, as the NDTV reporter says ‘overplayed her hand”. What she doesn’t say, but implies, is that her violent end was inevitable. If this isn’t grand design to save the politicians involved, I don’t know what is. Public sympathy towards Bhanwari is next to none, she will soon be forgotten. Both Maderna and Malkhan Singh will more than likely buy their way out of prison and soon all will be hunky dory. NDTV helped put a badge of shame around Bhanwari Devi and even before the verdict is out she stands convicted. But then dead people don’t come back to fight for the injustice meted out to them.

Life will probably never be same for Bhanwari’s children. In this NDTV report, the reporter thrusts the mike insensitively at Bhanwari’s seven year old daughter and asks her about her mother. The child innocently says that her mother would call her from wherever she was and ask her what to bring back home. It is a shame that nobody in NDTV ethics committee thought twice about interviewing a seven year old child, a minor, who was probably going through unimaginable trauma. Bhanwari’s daughter brings me back to where I started from. In one of the most heart breaking and poignant passages in ‘Scarlet Letter’ Hester Prynne’s little daughter, Pearl has following conversation with her.

“Mother,”said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”
“Nor ever will, my child, I hope,” said Hester.
“And why not, mother?” asked Pearl, stopping short. . . . “Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?”

It is my belief that truth about Bhanwari Devi will never be known. She has forever been made to wear the badge of shame and the ignominy will far outlive her.

The postmortem by media even before its full facts are known, heard, accepted by the courts, ensures that the children of Bhanvari Devi will carry this stigma wherever they go, and get recognized for that than for their own standing. Its the most cruel thing that can happen to anybody.

Apart from that, as you say, rightly so, the last word on what exactly Bhanvari was and how her end came is to be proved in court. The CBI, in my view, to weaken the case, and let VVIPs escape with minor punishment, have included her husband into the crime. In all probability, Maderna and Malkhan Singh will escape with a few months (max. 1 yr imprisonment). Some goons will be sent in, their families threatened, expenses taken care of by ‘stain-proof’ politicians.

Ideally, Justice Katju should have reprimanded NDTV for this report (hope he does). But, instead, the PCI is focused on Sunny Leone, examining her shows, analysing her words, action, to see if she broke any law here. Huh!

We have almost forgotten another instance of murder of a woman in Rajasthan, in similar circumstances. Try googling for it. Again an MLA was involved in it.

Keerthi Narayan

Ma’am if this case involved a BJP or a BSP MLA or MP. This same channel and all the women’s group would have travelled pillar to post to get justice for her. But, since the perpetrators of this crime are Congress MLAs, the news channels will look into these petty issues and try to bail out these Congress MLAs. This is the reality. This is the times we live in today.

Ratnakar Sadasyula

If News of the World cud shut down for a phone hacking scandal, how is NDTV still functioning when it has been indulging in the worst every practices, right from character assasinations to openly lobbing with corporates. In any other country, NDTV wud have been forced to shut down after Radia Gate, how is it still functioning, and how is Barkha Dutt, still around?

Dead people can fight back, through us ordinary Indians. It was the ordinary Brits, who hit back against NOTW, on the phone hacking, dragging it to court, that forced the tabloid to shut down, can’t we do the same for NDTV.

http://twitter.com/rshahdeo R

It’s naive to expect that NDTV would expose the misdeeds of their bosses and their cohorts. The owners and the editors are all linked/related to the ruling (Congress (I) ) dispensation. Plus journalists in India hardly ever ask tough relevant questions to the politicos. Its impossible to even dream of a US style TV grilling of a politician because here they’ll simply walk away rather than be accountable.

http://twitter.com/fakeerGandhi fakeerGandhi

A nice piece of CONCERN…
Bhanwari Devi did not belong to the elite strata of the society.

http://twitter.com/fakeerGandhi fakeerGandhi

A nice piece of CONCERN… Bhanwari Devi did not belong to the elite strata of the society…. My Community…. the FAKEERS.

http://twitter.com/ma_falesu Siddhartha Chatterje

This is not just war for TRPs. That happens in the west, where media houses are businesses run with a profit motive. English language media (ELM) in India are not populated with business houses. ELM is a cartel with profit motive and, as Colombian cartels do, this cartel does not mind making profits at the cost of it’s consumers and society they thrive in.

What NDTV/CNNIBN is doing is basically starting a twisted class warfare. At one hand, there exists media people with fat pay-checks and no accountability. They are supported by stars of academia because once in a while they get to write (or appear in the studios) in these media outlets so that they can brand themselves as important people. This is the class Sri Swapan Dasgupta called PLU (people-like-us).

On the other hand, there exists unwashed millions with their extra-ordinary struggle to continue daily lives. Among these people there are lakhs of Bhanwaris who were given the impression that to satisfy a very little ambition (like promotion in a government office) you need to find someone who knows someone who knows someone who has power. In their confusing journey across this horrible maze of patronization some get what they asked for and few meets Bhanwari’s fate. When latter happens, PLU gets all fired up. Ambition from non-PLUs? How dangerous!! They need to be put down in harshest terms and told to know their position.

Actually, none from us (the non-PLU) could ever hope to see a better life and a fairer society unless we catch this PLU by collar and tell them to know their place.

http://twitter.com/RucchiraM Ruchira Mandal

Well, if a woman is abused it is always her fault. She is ‘over-ambitious’, ‘loose’ – as if anything justifies murder!

http://twitter.com/reach_pani DP

Very moving, disturbing and incisive, hope there was at least one like you the MSM.

http://twitter.com/IndiaChatter India Chatter

What NDTV is propagating is extremely dangerous.

They seem to think it’s ok if a woman is killed due to her ‘morals’.

They should remember @BDUTT:twitter has been caught on tape with Radia on 2G scam.

Sumeet ™ Verified ✔

I agree to @sunandavashisht ji on almost everything expect for the place where she defends Bhanwari’s personal character. That’s like defending the indefensible. Being from Rajasthan & having the pulse of the local media & reports I can say it without any doubt that the woman was at fault too & had a dubious character. So when national media echoes the same, some people feel outraged. Dig into the life of Bhanwari & then facts shall be clear. Although I agree that no matter how downtrodden the woman may/may not be, murder,killing etc is absolutely unpardonable & law will take its due course.

shiv singh

Well written. #PaidMedia exposed once again by you.

http://twitter.com/sunpandey santosh pandey

Beautifully written piece. Literally as well as exposing the nexus between Gov machinery and so called 4th pillar The Media.Knowing what we know of NDTV,their report is on usual expected lines.What baffles me most is the complete absence of Candle Brigade and so called Civil Society when they are ever ready to pounce on likes of Muthalik.

Kudos to CRI for providing us a forum where we can rant as well as show mirror to the established media.

I think NDTV is a home to women of such morals – a ‘Kotha’ as it is described in Lucknowi Urdu – and such women if they find some one rich and famous become stars and when not successful are termed as ‘bichari’ blah blah blah ——-

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